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sarahsthoughtsonbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
**will update, one day, but just putting down my immediate thoughts**
Despite owning multiple copies of The Poppy Wars trilogy, and Babel, Yellowface is the first R. F. Kuang novel I've read.
This novel is marketed as a satire about the publishing industry, so I was expecting it to be enjoyable/readable but for most of it to go over my head, because I generally don't understand satire.
However, the whole mystery/thriller aspect that's not really advertised had me quickly turning the pages for the last half of the book. I don't know if the writing and what happened is something that those that have read her backlist expected, but as a new to the author reader, it had me captured. Like where was Kuang going with this? What is happening? At the same time, I was and to guess what was happening as i got closer to the end - my original prediction at about 1/3 of the way done was wrong.
Anyways, highly recommend adding to your TBR if you want something that looks into the publishing industry, tokenization, diversity "efforts and inclusion".
It's really a lot about who gets to tell stories, who gets credit, how much credit.
CN: HP references
Despite owning multiple copies of The Poppy Wars trilogy, and Babel, Yellowface is the first R. F. Kuang novel I've read.
This novel is marketed as a satire about the publishing industry, so I was expecting it to be enjoyable/readable but for most of it to go over my head, because I generally don't understand satire.
However, the whole mystery/thriller aspect that's not really advertised had me quickly turning the pages for the last half of the book. I don't know if the writing and what happened is something that those that have read her backlist expected, but as a new to the author reader, it had me captured. Like where was Kuang going with this? What is happening? At the same time, I was and to guess what was happening as i got closer to the end - my original prediction at about 1/3 of the way done was wrong.
Anyways, highly recommend adding to your TBR if you want something that looks into the publishing industry, tokenization, diversity "efforts and inclusion".
It's really a lot about who gets to tell stories, who gets credit, how much credit.
CN: HP references
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Racism, Bullying, and Death
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Stalking
Minor: Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, and Death of parent
kylieshart's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Thank you to netgalley for a free e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
A very compelling story, it was hard to put down. The main character gives psychopath vibes. Juniper was a very unlikable character but hearing the story from her point of view was challenging. There was lots of talk about race and racism.
I really liked the inside look at the publishing world, very interesting. I would definitely recommend this story.
A very compelling story, it was hard to put down. The main character gives psychopath vibes. Juniper was a very unlikable character but hearing the story from her point of view was challenging. There was lots of talk about race and racism.
I really liked the inside look at the publishing world, very interesting. I would definitely recommend this story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Grief, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Cultural appropriation, and Bullying
Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, Blood, Toxic friendship, Self harm, and Alcohol
Minor: Islamophobia and War
cassie_roberts's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Yellowface has been another fantastically written book by R.F. Kuang. This book was fast-paced, twisty, unpredictable, and impossible to put down. The book is a dramatic dark satire with side notes hilarious grimness, racism, insight into the publishing world, and extensive booktwt discourse.
Yellowface delves into the complexities of whiteness, racism, cultural appropriation, and the erasure of ethnic (in particular Asian) voices in Western society and in the publishing industry. RFK artfully highlights these issues using the narrative voice of June, a white female main character who witnesses the death of her 'friend' and immediately steals her finished manuscript to publish as her own.
June is awful, frustrating, manipulative, self-absorbed, and unfailingly realistic. RFK writes June so incredibly that at times you could even forget how repulsive June is and that she got everything she has because she stole Athena's story and passed it off as her own because of how well she is written.
I love that RFK didn't pull any punches with any of her characters and that you walk away from the book not having really liked any of them as people.
Yellowface gave us a lot of messy questions to come to terms with but no real answers on what can be done better. Whilst I would have enjoyed more insight into RFK thinking on these issues, as a work of fiction Yellowface did what it was meant to. It is enough for Yellowface to highlight these issues, complexities, and questions and for it to put them out into the world in a form that is easy to consume and understand. The book leaves it up to us to form our own conclusions on how we feel about these issues and make our own decisions on how we value marginalised stories and authors.
The book was very meta and heavy with popular culture references that weren't always enjoyable to wade through if you didn't understand or know the acronyms or what was being discussed. I struggled with the middle of the book because of how heavy-handed it was with Twitter discourse but otherwise, it was a thought-provoking book that was wonderfully written and extremely engaging.
I loved the writing, I don't think the book was necessarily a story that I really enjoyed reading but I think the issues and complexities that it dealt with were incredibly well done and easy to follow and understand.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC to read and review.
Yellowface delves into the complexities of whiteness, racism, cultural appropriation, and the erasure of ethnic (in particular Asian) voices in Western society and in the publishing industry. RFK artfully highlights these issues using the narrative voice of June, a white female main character who witnesses the death of her 'friend' and immediately steals her finished manuscript to publish as her own.
June is awful, frustrating, manipulative, self-absorbed, and unfailingly realistic. RFK writes June so incredibly that at times you could even forget how repulsive June is and that she got everything she has because she stole Athena's story and passed it off as her own because of how well she is written.
I love that RFK didn't pull any punches with any of her characters and that you walk away from the book not having really liked any of them as people.
Yellowface gave us a lot of messy questions to come to terms with but no real answers on what can be done better. Whilst I would have enjoyed more insight into RFK thinking on these issues, as a work of fiction Yellowface did what it was meant to. It is enough for Yellowface to highlight these issues, complexities, and questions and for it to put them out into the world in a form that is easy to consume and understand. The book leaves it up to us to form our own conclusions on how we feel about these issues and make our own decisions on how we value marginalised stories and authors.
The book was very meta and heavy with popular culture references that weren't always enjoyable to wade through if you didn't understand or know the acronyms or what was being discussed. I struggled with the middle of the book because of how heavy-handed it was with Twitter discourse but otherwise, it was a thought-provoking book that was wonderfully written and extremely engaging.
I loved the writing, I don't think the book was necessarily a story that I really enjoyed reading but I think the issues and complexities that it dealt with were incredibly well done and easy to follow and understand.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC to read and review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, and War
clairew97's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
Well if there was one way to get me out of a reading slump it was picking up this book. Rebecca has done it again. I read the entire thing in one sitting, I could not put it down.
The main character is as insufferable and delusional as you would expect. Her justifications for her actions were wild to me, but I also believe that there are people out there who think like June does.
The exploration of racism within the publishing industry and the insight into the industry was incredibly interesting. Also, the exploration into the online world as a writer was an interesting take. The ending took me completely by surprise and I was hooked.
A completely satirical look into the publishing world and life as an author, I don’t think anyone else could have handled the premise of this book quite as well. A complete 180 from Babel, so if you’re looking for that type of book again this is definitely not it. I can’t wait to see where R F Kuang goes next.
The main character is as insufferable and delusional as you would expect. Her justifications for her actions were wild to me, but I also believe that there are people out there who think like June does.
The exploration of racism within the publishing industry and the insight into the industry was incredibly interesting. Also, the exploration into the online world as a writer was an interesting take. The ending took me completely by surprise and I was hooked.
A completely satirical look into the publishing world and life as an author, I don’t think anyone else could have handled the premise of this book quite as well. A complete 180 from Babel, so if you’re looking for that type of book again this is definitely not it. I can’t wait to see where R F Kuang goes next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, War, Blood, Alcohol, Classism, Sexual assault, Sexism, Bullying, Homophobia, Racism, Stalking, Violence, Grief, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Body horror, Body shaming, Gaslighting, Gore, Mental illness, Murder, and Racial slurs
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